Faux Tintypes

Lisa Vollrath has a great tutorial on making faux tintypes. It's a far more detailed effort than the blink-and-you'll-miss-it aside I did back in May.

Wanted

The latest from Ross MacDonald's blog is an in-depth look at what went into the creation of a wanted poster for the new "Johah Hex" movie. The amount of work put into the final poster, featuring hand-set vintage type and a custom carved linocut, is simply amazing. The article also includes some interesting historical research:

"Wanted posters are a form of Public Notice. We tend to think of public notices as 'lost cat' posters these days, but originally they were much more formal documents. Think of the town crier gathering the citizens of the village, and reading the proclamation from the King, before nailing it to a post for all to read - that's a public notice. A Public Notice was the Law. Wanted Notices are legal contracts, and were almost always issued by a Sheriff or other duly-appointed lawman, whose name and location were printed at the bottom. If you produced the 'wanted' person, the sheriff was legally obliged to give you the reward offered, no questions asked.

Wanted posters were mostly intended as circulars - sent to other lawmen in surrounding communities - and weren't often tacked up all over town, as shown in most movies. Rewards were a source of extra income for deputies. However, a few posters would also be posted prominently at strategic locations - the post office, general store, etc. - in the hopes that a citizen might have information about the fugitive."

Curwin's Legacy

Mr. Able of The Able Workshop was kind enough to send over a look at his latest project: The Joseph Curwin Thesis field box.

Not long ago, a student at Miskatonic University researching trans-dimensional vampirism came across a singular artifact while excavating the ruins of what was once the house of the infamous Joseph Curwin. The box seems to be a field case of some sort, most likely used by Curwin in his travels and research when not at home. The box contains most notably a partial mummified skeleton of what appears to be an infant male (most likely used as a reagent to aquire mumia, which is a key ingredient in the processes of revivification that Curwin pioneered.) There are two types of salts, custodes and materia, and several vials of liquids, powders and other curious elements that can only be guessed at as they are sealed.

A drawer in the box reveals a Simon edition of the NECRONOMICON, however the book itself (owing to the cover) was known as "The Scarab Occult" and thought long lost. The function of the rod (wand?) in the drawer is not known.

An overall look at the field box. The central compartment contains the fetal skeleton and a variety of vials, while the lower drawer holds "The Scarab Occult" and a wand of suspiciously familiar hue. I've always suspected that Herbert West was more than a little familiar with Curwin's work.


The very nicely done fetal skeleton. The weathering really captures the look of dessicated flesh.



A lightly wider angle showing the storage box for the skeleton. I believe the corner pieces are custom etched, which is a nice touch.


Vials sealed with wax. Mr. Able handily avoids one of my pet peeves- storage containers that would promptly spill their contents all over the place if the prop was actually used. See the numerous vampire hunting kits on Ebay for examples.




Essential salts, with properly seated corks. It's probably for the best that there isn't an example of "ye liveliest awfulness" visible.

"At the Mountains of Madness" Expedition Gear

In 1930 an expedition from Miskatonic University arrived in the Antarctic. Shortly thereafter a remote survey camp began exploring a newly discovered chain of mountains and radioed back the details of an incredible discovery.

Hours later, every man in the camp was dead.

The controversy over what happened to the poor souls in that isolated outpost still rages today. Where they killed by a freakishly powerful storm, as the official inquiry ruled? Or were they the victims of a mass, homicidal rage induced by tainted food, as some have suggested? And what of the mysterious discovery they claimed to have made shortly before radio contact was lost?

Those questions may never be answered, but now you can own a small piece of that ill-fated expedition's history.

"Wings Over Antarctica" Miskatonic University Antarctic Expedition Patch

The 4" (10 cm) patch is embroidered on a tough cotton twill backing that will last for years of use, and the heat-sensitive adhesive makes it easy to iron it on to the garment of your choice.

The "Wings Over Antarctica" logo is as historically accurate as possible. The deco-influenced design features a stylized Dornier Wal (or "Whale"), the aircraft actually used by the expedition in the story. The silhouette of Antarctica is correct for 1930, before the true boundaries of the ice floes had been mapped, and the font used was first available commercially in 1928. Readers of the story should also appreciate the symbolism of using a five-pointed star to mark the expedition's ultimate destination.

"Wings Over Antarctica" Miskatonic University Antarctic Expedition Lapel Pin

This handsome reproduction of the "Wings Over Antarctica" logo is 1" (2.5 cm) in diameter. Constructed of solid brass with an antiqued finish and a butterfly clasp backing.

Miskatonic University Antarctic Expedition Notebook

The expedition notebook is patterned after the pocket journals used by scientists and researchers in the field to record observations. The front cover features the expedition logo, while the back includes observation instructions and a specimen ruler. The notebook measures 3.5" by 5" (8.89 cm by 12.7 cm) and has a saddle-stitch binding, 1/4" rounded corners, heavyweight cover, and 32 pages of high quality lined paper. All materials are 100% recycled and the cover designs are printed with environmentally friendly soy ink.

All Hail The Queen

An interesting take on the Hasturian side of the Mythos from artist Joe Broers: the "Queen in Yellow". I think this is the first sculpt based on Chambers' work I've seen, outside of the "King in Yellow" figure from the RAFM miniatures line for "Call of Cthulhu".

Mea Culpa

If you ordered an Antarctic expedition prop set on Saturday you paid too much for shipping.

Not surprisingly, it's my fault this happened- I had set up the charges as though each package included three notebooks, which are surprisingly heavy, instead of the lighter shipping weight of one notebook, a patch, and a pin. To make up for the problem, which was totally on my end and resulted in an overcharge of $1-$1.50, I'll include an extra Miskatonic University notebook in every order made before 2100 PDT on Saturday (when I finally determined what was going on and fixed it).

I sincerely apologize for the error and hope everyone caught by it finds the extra notebook an acceptable way of making up for it. As a small operation serving a very niche market I take customer service very seriously, so I'll be happy to refund the overcharge amount to anyone that prefers that form of compensation. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you ever have a issue with an order.

More Paper

Florian Mellies was kind enough to send over two more paper props: an autopsy report and a German Master's certificate from the 1930's, based on the one his own great-grandfather obtained. Just click through to download the full sized graphics from Picasa.

From Florian Mellies Police Paper Props

From Florian Mellies Police Paper Props

From Florian Mellies Police Paper Props